TURNTABLE LAB

Mutant Beat Dance
Another World / New News Is Old News 12"

dark jackin' analog house grooves

Mutant Beat Dance is Traxx (aka underground acid house guru Melvin Oliphant III) and Beau Wanzer joining forces to bring the power of the Chicago underground sound straight to your dancefloor. These guys aren't pulling any punches and give it to you raw dog style with the dark jackin' vibes of "Another World(1)" and "NoNewsIsOldNews(2)." Play it loud, turn off the lights and watch all the freaks come out and make the walls start to sweat!
reviewed by snackmaster

file under:
rock + new wave + 80/90s / new wave + no wave + electro / detroit - carl craig, theo parrish, moodymann / and more

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Shocking Pinks
Cutout / Dressed To Please Remixes 2x12"

Heavyweight double 12" pack featuring two big remixes of "Cutout" off Shocking Pinks' DFA debut, plus three new mixes of the non-album "Dressed To Please." Ex-Tussle member Alexis Georgopoulos and compadre Quinn Luke flesh out the drum-centric aspect of "Cutout" on their Expanding Head Band remix(1), then Lee Douglas(2) flips the script completely on his beautiful and hypnotic slow tribal remix (hands down my pick of the bunch here). The second 12" features three deep, dubby instrumental mixes of "Dressed To Please," the most substantial being the Deepchord remix(3), followed by the sidelong Echospace reduction(4) and Nathan Fake remix(5). "Cutout" mixes play at 45, "Dressed" at 33.
reviewed by Chris Lemon-Red

file under:
dfa + related / rong + related / new disco / cosmic / edits

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Woolfy
Looking Glass (Foolish Felix, Canyons) 12"

heartbreaking hypnotic synth-pop

Of all the things that make Woolfy's "Looking Glass(1)" a beautiful song, the most beguiling is how it deftly defies expectations. It comes on slowly, all sighing synths and percolating percussion, but unfolds into something unexpected: a solid electronic dance track that is simultaneously upbeat, catchy, mournful and evocative. The chorus, sung in his downcast vocals, is as heartbreaking as the lyrics suggest: "Don't take your / Eyes off me / You're leaving / And I'm looking lost." Of the many standouts on Woolfy's 2009 If You Know What's Good For Ya!! album, "Looking Glass" is most arresting of all. In addition, there are two remixes of Woolfy's wonderful original here. The first up is from DJ, producer and Cynic label head "Foolish Felix" Dickinson(2); the second comes via Australian DJ duo Canyons(3), a.k.a. Leo Holiday and Ryan Sea-Mist. For his part, Dickinson does away with the track's synth-pop foundation and infuses it with the sounds of old-school acid house; hypnotic beats and squelchy, rubbery bass take center stage. What's more, he adds depth with long, shadow-casting keys that launch this remix deep into sonic space. Canyons' remix fills the track so full of sadness and solitude, it feels like every element--the ruminating guitar; the lonesome, hanging piano; the stormy synthesized rumblings--was recorded in the vastness of a painted desert. Even as things pick up a bit in the second half of the song with a newfound beat, Woolfy's echoing refrain rings as distant and forlorn as ever. All together, the sum of these twilight parts makes for an even greater and disquietingly gorgeous whole.
reviewed by DFA

file under:
dfa + related / rong + related / new disco / cosmic / edits

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